Monday, April 18, 2011

Today I'm going to be talking about how to do your makeup for work. Now obviously you may have to switch it up a bit depending on your workplace. The thing I try to focus on when I get ready for work is long-lasting makeup with pretty but not super intense colors. I'm not going to go into skin care beforehand or how I do my hair.

1) Once I have given my face moisturizer time to set in (I try to do about ten minutes), I use a primer. The primer I use is the one I mentioned in my Sephora haul post. I really like this primer but if you have one that you feel works great for you, let me know! Next, I use my foundation brush (my brushes I mentioned in my cleaning makeup brushes post), and the foundation I use is L'Oreal Paris True Match in the shade N1 Soft Ivory. This is not the longest lasting foundation I have ever used but it is the foundation with the greatest shade variations and the one that matches my skin the best.

If you are looking for a long-lasting foundation I would recommend MaybellineSuperStay 24 hour foundation - I find that even the lightest shade is too dark for my skin but if you don't have super pale skin you should be alright. I have tried the MaybellineFitMe foundation and really didn't like it. It was super watery and the coverage just wasn't good.

2) My next step is concealer.

The concealer I use is L'oreal Paris True Match 16-Hour Infallible in Fair/Light. I apply it directly on my skin on any blemishes or dark circles and then I use my EcoTools Concealer Brush to blend it in.

3) Once I have applied both my foundation and concealer I use my MakeUp For Ever Mist and Fix to ensure that they will make it through the day. Even so, I sometimes bring my concealer for touch-ups throughout the day.

4) Last step in my base is a face powder.

I use Maybelline's Fit Me Powder (a product in the Fit Me line worth using!) in the lightest shade, 110. I know I have seen the fit me line on sale at a few places lately so it's worth checking out. I use a big bronzer brush to apply this all over, focusing on my T-zone which can get kind of oily. I like to start with a strong base because my skin is often red and blotchy because it's so fair and translucent so I want to make sure it's really covered up. Next I move onto the colors.

5) I find with the color of my skin a frosty/medium pink is really pretty looking.

The blush I use is actually part of a palette I got for Christmas. I know it was from Shoppers Drug Mart but I don't know what the brand is and it doesn't say anywhere on it anymore. This L'Oreal Paris True Match blush is the closest color I've found to it. I use a blush brush and focus on the apples and spread out a bit to my temples. This adds some color without going overboard. Sometimes I add bronzer too depending on what I feel like that day and the bronzer I use is Bonne Bell Blend and Glow.

6) Next I move onto my eyes. I like layering on lighter colors to add some depth without drowning my eyes. I don't really like dark colors even for nights out because they make my eyes look small and often turn into a smudgy mess. When doing my makeup for work I usually start with a champagne-y color from my palette.

Here is a color close to what I use, although the shade in my palette has a lot more sparkle. I apply this all over my lids, brow bone, inner corner and even lower lashline. Next I add a pink color to the lid.

This is about close to the color pink I would use. Very pretty. Finally, I may add either a bronze or a light pastel-y purple to the crease. I add a couple coats of mascara both on the top and bottom. The mascara I am using right now is LashBlast, but there are tons of great drugstore brands out there.

7) Time for lips! I struggled for awhile finding a lip product I really liked. I couldn't stand ones like ChapStick because I had to constantly reapply as they had no staying power. Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip glosses I was into for awhile but they were sooo sticky and if you walked somewhere when it was windy your hair would get stuck in your lip gloss. Finally I came across My Favorite Lip Balm (yes that is the actual name!) by C.O. Bigelow at Bath and Body Works. This is a clear, lightly scented lip gloss that stays on without being too sticky. I'm not sure if they still have this product as I didn't see it last time I was in one but if they do I would definitely recommend picking one up. I always bring my lip gloss to work with me to reapply.

8) Finally, if you're looking for something extra, my favorite line of nail polish is Sally Hansen. I love the Xtreme Wear and Insta-Dri. I actually have all of these colors except for orange and black. The color I am wearing at the moment is the pink at the end which is called Tickled Pink.

What work makeup do you guys where? Has it changed based on where you work? How do you make your makeup last through the day? What products do you bring with you?

Monday, April 11, 2011

A few days ago I got to go to Sephora for the first time ever! I had been looking at the products online for quite awhile but had never been since there wasn’t one that close. My boyfriend and I drove about an hour to get to one so we could go check it out. (If you’ve never heard of Sephora, it’s a big fun beauty product store with tons of different brands J). All the girls working there were super nice. They would greet you but not be completely annoying and overbearing while you’re trying to shop (haha talking to you girls at Shoppers!) There was so much awesome stuff there and so much I wanted! They have testers of basically anything and will even do demonstrations. Plus they had lots of Kleenex and cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol so you could use the tester right on your face without getting some sketchy disease(don’t use drugstore testers!!). They had bliss products which I’ve been eyeing up for awhile but they are super expensive! Like there was one kit that just had foot lotion and socks and it was $57 L.

So the first thing I really needed was a primer. I had been using an oil mattifying gel from Shoppers but it was almost empty and I wanted to get something new and different. The primer I ended up getting was Primed and Poreless by Two Faced. It’s a primer that apparently you can wear alone – it makes my skin look less oily but I wouldn’t wear it on its own. I have been using this primer as my first step after washing my face and moisturizing and before I do my makeup. It feels like super velvety when you put it on.

I took a look through the tools and accessories that they had – there was soo much! Makeup brushes, tweezers, nail stuff... pretty much everything you could ever use! I got this little pink silicone pad that you use to clean your face. I put my face cleanser on it and rub it in little circles on my face and neck. It is a good massage, exfoliates a bit and gets your cleanser in really deep. If you have seen the L’oreal cleansers with the cleaning pad built in – that’s what it looks like. Another product I bought was a powder sifter. It’s a jar that has a sifter in it so for times when you drop a powder and it breaks, or you use it and it shatters, you can just crush up the rest of it, put it in the jar and use a brush. I know this will end up saving me money down the road as rather than throwing out half empty powder compacts, I can instead get much more use out of them. It was something like $4.

Next thing I was looking for was a spray that sets in your makeup. I ended up getting Make Up For Ever Mist and Fix. I spray this on after my foundation and concealer, and then again after I have put on all my makeup. I found that it has been helping my makeup stay on longer. I have combination skin, and the oily spots are really oily so anything that can stop my makeup from turning into an oil slick is great. They also recommend if you wanna touch up your makeup in the middle of the day to just spray it on and then apply face powder after.

A feature the store has that is nice is they have quite a fair size selection of men’s products. While I was off testing everything, my boyfriend was checking out the different cologne and skin products that they had, and picked up a deodorant that he really liked.

When we went to pay, I got to sign up for a customer loyalty card thingy and received points on all the stuff I had bought. Once you build up enough points you can redeem them for samples, and I think you get a free gift on your birthday too.

Well that was my experience at Sephora! Have you guys ever been to Sephora? What did you think?

Friday, April 8, 2011

Ok so a few weeks ago I tried a product I was super excited about – Sally Hansen Salon Effects (if you’re not sure what this means, it’s those peel on nail sticker things that come in all different designs). I had heard a lot of rave reviews about them, saw tons of pictures online of people who said they had lasted at least 10 days so I thought I’d give them a try.

I found them at Walmart and picked out the pink sparkly ones. They are called Bling It On. I had them for a little while before I decided to use them. They came with like 16 stickers (really doesn’t make sense to me)and the first thing you do is look through them and try to find one that matches up to each nail. They weren’t super bad, but you will likely end up with some that are wider than your nail, or not wide enough.

There were some steps before that, don’t remember off the top of my head what they were.. I think removing your old nail polish and pushing back your cuticles. The box came with an orange stick and a nail buffer. You are supposed to just peel it off and stick it on your nail. Not the easiest thing to do – the sticker is incredibly flimsy and it is hard to line up just right.

I kept going following along with the directions – filing off the extra ends, finishing up with a top coat. Unfortunately, I found that the ends were peeling off like crazy! I didn’t know what to do to keep them on. Anything I touched with my nails would make it worse. I ended up having to peel them all off and was pretty disappointed. If you have tried these, how did they work for you? Any better luck?

So the first thing I wanted to talk to you about is.... cleaning makeup brushes! I know, doesn’t sound very fun right? To be honest, until about a year ago it was something I never really thought about, never really did. Then I was watching a video online and realized how good it was to clean your brushes to make sure you’re starting with a nice clean base!

So I actually don’t have a ton of brushes – the line of brushes I use right now is Ecotools. They are bamboo anddo NOT use animal hair which is always good (the ones I saw at Sephora all use goat hair and I don’t like that L).

This is the big brush I have – it is a bronzer brush – I get the EcoTools brushes at Walmart – not sure where else they have them

This is the blush brush I have – it is from the brand Quo which you can get at Shoppers Drug Mart. I like the Ecotools brushes much better – I’ve had a couple Quo brushes I’ve had to throw out because they get too damaged

This is a foundation brush I just picked up – I never used to use a brush with my foundation but I got sick of using my fingers so I’m giving it a try... so far so good!

Finally, this is the ecotools concealer brush. I actually have two of this. One I use for my concealer and the other one I just use for eyeshadow.

Anyways, those are all the brushes that I have. I’m hoping to maybe pick up one of those stiff angled brushes to use for my brows and doing shadow as liner.

Ok, now onto how I clean my brushes!

The cleanser I use is Quo brush cleanser – you can find it with the Quo brushes at Shoppers Drug Mart. You don’t have to use the same ones – there are quite a few different brands that sell brush cleansers. Or if you want you can just use baby shampoo (I’m not sure about using regular shampoo – it may be too harsh)

I gather up all my brushes and one at a time I run them under warm water. Once they are fully wet I spray them with the brush cleanser. Just kinda spray them enough so you can rub it into a lather and then you rinse them off.

Just a warning – if you haven’t washed your brushes for a long time (or ever! – don’t feel bad, I was in that position before too!) the first time you wash them it will take a lot longer than usual because they have so much pigment in them. What I ended up doing was leaving them to soak for a little while in a container of water. You may have to do that if you find that. I usually now hold them under water until they rinse clean. I wash my brushes weekly so it doesn’t take too long to clean them. Then I just leave them on the bathroom counter so they have time to dry. Make sure you have enough time to dry them before you have to do your makeup next – obviously drying time will be longer for your bigger power/bronzer brushes than your eyeshadow or liner brushes.

Sometimes when I’m cleaning my makeup brushes I will clean my hairbrush too. How I do this is pull out any excess hair and squirt some shampoo on the bristles. I run it under hot water until the shampoo is rinsed out. I heard that bacteria and yucky stuff can grow if you leave it to dry on its own so I just use my hairdryer to dry it.

That is basically it for my makeup brushes and how I clean them! Let me know if you have any questions!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

So I have created this blog to give my opinion about/review beauty products . I know firsthand how frustrating it is to buy a new product and have it be totally disappointing and not at all what you were looking for. Before I buy something, I like to search online and see how the product worked for others. Lately I have been obsessed with watching beauty vids on youtube and heading over to Bath and Body Works, Pink and Shoppers to see what new products there are and I am so excited to do reviews for you guys! Feel free to leave any comments about what you would like to see! Thanks guys!